Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare Sectors

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 08 Issue: 11 | Nov 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

www.irjet.net

Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare Sectors Ishaan Shah1, Rathin B.N Rao2, Chirag Shetty3, Tushar Shetty4 1,2,3,4UG Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MPSTME, NMIMS University Mumbai-400056, India ---------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract - Healthcare is a very important sector as our lives depend on it. This paper examines Six Sigma's feasibility in the healthcare sector. A hospital or healthcare industry with flaws and loopholes may mean the difference between life and death.

As a means of reducing variation in service quality using the quality management tool Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in hospitals, this research aims to mitigate mishaps and increase patient experiences during hospital visits. By reducing defects and wastes, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is an organizational methodology that increases process capability and efficiency.

satisfied. These expected results motivate hospital management and administration to implement Six Sigma.

Also, unnecessary processes and movements of hospital staff can be seen that are not necessary. The lean philosophy may provide an opportunity to mitigate these issues. By eliminating inefficient processes, it believes errors can be eliminated. In the context of the competition over resources and capital, a result of the Second World War, Taiichi Ohno and his associates developed the lean philosophy at Toyota Production System. It is also credited with being the originator of just-in-time (JIT) production strategies, a component of lean philosophy, and so the Toyota production system remains a model of brilliance for a proponent of lean philosophy. Based on the Lean philosophy, defects are the result of irrelevant processes or unnecessary activities. Six Sigma, on the other hand, emphasizes process incapability.

Key Words: Healthcare, Six Sigma, service quality, Lean Six Sigma 1.INTRODUCTION Recently, there has been much interest in applying Six Sigma statistical techniques to improve processes. The application of Six Sigma is vital to process improvement in traditional manufacturing firms. Many service-focused companies achieve similar improvements by applying Six Sigma concepts, including reducing waste in internal processes and improving customer-facing metrics. The Six Sigma methodology can be applied to improve the financial and operational performance of healthcare organizations. When it comes to healthcare, there is little margin for error. Simple mistakes can impact hundreds of people and can lead to fatalities. These preventable deaths can be reduced dramatically with Lean Six Sigma.

3. Methodology Each problem has two phases. In the first phase, the root cause is identified, and in the second phase, Six Sigma tools are applied, e.g., DMAIC or DMADV based on the data and information gathered. Analyzing and solving problems constitute the second phase. Both are useful and essential.

But DMAIC is used more frequently than DMADV due to the fact that it uses existing resources to provide a solution.

Instead, DMADV uses a new method to solve the problem.

Below are the steps involved in DMAIC and DMADV.

Six sigma is simply a tool for quality measurement that aims to be as close to perfection as possible. It is a disciplined approach and methodology to remove defects from all processes and products, from manufacturing to service. The statistic measures how close the process or product is to the target value. In order to achieve six sigma levels, 3.4 defects per million must not be produced by the process. Using the six-sigma tool, you can drastically reduce process variability and assignable causes. Lean means speed, and it applies to all processes. In lean metrics, process cycle efficiency is used to identify unnecessary operations or activities.

2. Philosophy In most cases, management issues can be identified and eliminated with the use of management tools. Six Sigma has demonstrated its value in this area. Not only is it a systematic data-driven approach, but it can also be used as a cost-effective tool. Management's primary goal is to develop an operational system that will completely eliminate medical errors. In theory, if six sigma is implemented in healthcare services, particularly at the hospital's reception desk, it shows that 9,999,966 patients out of 1,000,000 will be

© 2021, IRJET

|

Impact Factor value: 7.529

Fig 1. Steps involved in DMAIC and DMADV

|

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal

|

Page 404

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 08 Issue: 11 | Nov 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

www.irjet.net

performance from a system; the customers experience the variability instead. Below are the advantages of using six sigma

4. Six Sigma in Healthcare 4.1 Hesitant entry Healthcare embraced six sigma slowly, and initially a lot of skepticism surrounded it. Hesitancy resulted from disparities between processes that are driven by humans versus processes that are automated or engineered. The automation of manufacturing can eliminate most of the human variability, resulting in precise measurements of assignable causes of variation. In healthcare, however, the process of delivering care is mostly human and the causes of variability are often far more subtle and difficult to quantify.

Commonwealth Health Corp, in partnership with G.E., was the first health care organization to fully incorporate Six Sigma into its culture. Their efforts resulted in improvements of more than $1.2 million, a 33% improvement in radiology throughout, and a 21.5% decrease in cost per radiology procedure. While adopting Six Sigma, health care organizations faced the challenge of finding ways to use data to influence human behavior. It appears to be most successful when providers combine a strong technical strategy with a sound cultural strategy, such as a change acceleration process and a sound operational mechanism.

Fig.2 Advantages of Six Sigma 5. Challenges Even though Six Sigma initiatives have demonstrated benefits in service-oriented environments, manufacturing continues to be the focus of Six Sigma programs. There are many challenges associated with Six Sigma implementation in service industries. Companies implementing Six Sigma in a service-oriented environment face three major challenges:

4.2 Application in health care

1. Metric identification is difficult in service-oriented (nonproduction) environments. The selection of appropriate metrics by companies in service industries is hampered by two main challenges:

Any process or service line that can provide measurable response variables can benefit from the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) approach. There are four categories of metrics that may define the performance of a health care delivery system:

 Creating a measurement of a process. In Six Sigma projects focused on production, companies are able to measure product defects. It can be challenging for firms to identify processes which can be measured in defects per million in a service environment.

1. Service Level: In terms of service level metrics, they indicate whether the system is capable of meeting the expectations of patients, referring physicians, and other stakeholders, which are critical to quality parameters (CTQs).

 Dealing with customer variability. Six Sigma is often applied to customer service metrics in service companies. Due to this greater variability of responses, response differences (and defects) cannot be segmented individually.

2. Service cost: An organization's service cost metrics show how much it costs for its services to meet patients' expectations. These indicators include the cost per unit of service, labor productivity, and other costs associated with providing services.

2. Cultural changes and the development of Six Sigma leaders are challenging for non-manufacturing firms.

Creating new behaviors that help achieve new goals and missions is what shapes the vision of the Six Sigma culture. Resistance begins when new behaviors are created.

3. Customer Satisfaction: It is possible to segment indicators into specific groups, including patient and family, referring physician, staff, and payer.

4. Clinical Excellence: There are a number of indicators related to specific treatment pathways or departments, such as adherence to the guidelines for prescribing aspirin to patients with myocardial infarctions or the reduction of hospital-acquired infections.

3.Non-production environments are unable to reap the benefits of Six Sigma applications. Six Sigma projects must demonstrate cost savings. In the past, companies had difficulty proving the value of other quality improvement strategies. Six Sigma projects often require patience and time before results can be demonstrated and employees can see their progress. Those companies that fail to set and achieve financial goals may abandon Six Sigma projects within a short timeframe.

The majority of health-care organizations use some combination of these four metrics to measure performance, but this can be misleading since they often represent an average. It is rare for customers to experience average

© 2021, IRJET

|

Impact Factor value: 7.529

|

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal

|

Page 405

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 08 Issue: 11 | Nov 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

www.irjet.net

6. Conclusion Healthcare is a very important and complex field, since it involves many departments, and a failure in one department may negatively affect patient care. Through successful implementation of Six Sigma throughout the health care sector, this methodology has proven its benefits.

Implemented properly, Six Sigma delivers significant benefits in terms of operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and process quality. While Six Sigma initiatives in healthcare organizations may start as a way to improve internal processes, eventually they become an indicator of future performance and growth. In conclusion, the application of Six Sigma is extremely effective in producing benefits for health-care organizations. The commitment and extensive training of healthcare organizations' employees in Six Sigma will continue to reap short and long term benefits.

REFERENCES [1]

A Brief Introduction To Lean, Six Sigma And Lean Six Sigma. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.greycampus.com/blog/qualitymanagement/a-brief-introduction-to-lean-and-sixsigma-and-lean-six-sigma Renewable Energy. Lean six sigma in the healthcare sector: A systematic literature review

[2]

Rajeev Rathi, Ammar Vakharia, Mohd Shadab (2021).

Lean six sigma in the healthcare sector: A systematic literature review.

[3]

Sakthivelmurugan E., Senthilkumar G., Tajdeen A., Manojkumar S. (2021). Application of lean six sigma in reducing the material consumption at wards in a selected healthcare unit.

[4]

S.E. Mason, C.R. Nicolay, A. Darzi. (2014). The use of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies in surgery: A systematic review.

[5]

Vimal Kumar Deshmukh, Suraj Kumar Mukti, Animesh Agrawal (2019). Applicability of Lean Six Sigma in Hospitals.

[6]

Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay, Karen Coppens (2005). Six Sigma Approach to Healthcare Quality and Productivity Management.

[7]

Loay Sehwail, Camille DeYong. (2003). Six Sigma in healthcare.

© 2021, IRJET

|

Impact Factor value: 7.529

|

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal

|

Page 406